Sapphire took another two weeks to finally leave the rift. In the end, she demanded Shen find a dweller for her to kill, but he refused unless she asked nicely, even after previously saying he would. He couldn't have people walk all over him just because he said he would help. She yelled angrily at him, and they were soon teleported away.

Shen still had another half hour remaining when she was teleported away. He immediately said, "Teleport."

He would see if anyone was still killing dwellers somewhere, wanted some help, and wasn't obnoxious. It was a networking opportunity, if nothing else.

Shen spent the next 10 minutes killing worms with everything he had. He was confident he had cleared the rift by the time light enveloped him and brought him somewhere else.

| No rifts remaining

| You've been teleported to safety

No surprises there; Sapphire had taken a very long time in her rift.

| Your points have been halved

| Previous points: 0

| Current points: 0

No surprises there, either. Teleporting halved one's points. It didn't matter to him.

| You survived

| +100,000 points awarded

| Current points: 100,000

And that concluded it, he guessed.

The safe space was the very same dining room he had visited previously. He wouldn't have returned earlier even if he had known that because he had promised to protect Sapphire. Letting her die and not giving in to her demands were two different things.

What he saw there, Shen was surprised for the first time. He had expected one or two talents to be killed, but instead, he found five talents and their respective guardians missing, together with their chairs, cushions, and tables.

Of the ones he had met, only the water elemental was gone. It sucked a lot but also made sense. The asaan's question revealed how heavy the expectations her people set on her were. She was treated as a weapon and likely had been told to gain her race as many prizes in there as possible, regardless of the risks.

Alas, she probably hadn't found a B-rank who gave her enough time to escape.

That was the ultimate lesson to gain in the demonstration, he guessed. Being a first-class talent would let one bridge many gaps, but not all. Talent was nothing in the face of overwhelming power.

Shen had learned that already. He had felt it in his flesh and bones and almost died out of arrogance when he faced Yinhu Lanfen. Yet, the contrast between watching Sapphire survive with her talent and the water elemental failing gave it a different weight. Not heavier, only different.

Maybe it was also because he had talked to the asaan. She had lived as a weapon and been disposed of when she failed to kill the enemy. It was unfair and pitiful.

If not for Liya, that might've been his own fate. Shen had certainly tried to turn himself into a spear. Saving him from that also had this entire emotional side he hadn't considered before.

Of the twenty-two original talents, only seventeen remained—and one less guardian because the deathwalker was gone.

"Good job," Liya said.

She didn't look at him, and her face lacked any expression, but he took it as a good sign. He had been away for a while, giving her extra time to think and improve her psychological state.

"Thanks," he replied, equally expressionlessly.

As usual, the infinity-edger spoke by adding information to his mind.

'Propriety asks for a minute of silence for those who fell.'

The ensuing silence lasted much longer than one minute, maybe as long as one hour, yet no one even shifted in their cushions.

Propriety had killed before, regardless of whether it was for justice, and had shown he couldn't be resisted. No one wanted to test his patience. He was also named Propriety, of all things, and Shen shouldn't be the only one to suspect that behaving inappropriately might tick the infinity-edger off.

Finally, he "said" something new.

'He now asks the talents to remember this lesson well. We're not necessarily better than the others just because we survived. That said, he congratulates us on our victory.'

Almost everyone, Shen included, relaxed when the silence was over. Liya had some influence in that Summit, but he didn't feel like testing its boundaries.

'As much as Propriety would like to believe we learned not to fight among each other, he would rather not risk our lives on his hope. That was why every guardian could only see the rift their charges were on. It's also why the rankings will be kept private. He'll talk to the five best performers in the incoming days.'

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

That was sensible, and Shen could almost hear Liya in his words.

'The demonstration fulfilled its purpose. Almost everyone was reminded of a talent's power, and we can all see the price of believing that power has no boundaries. Also, seven talents chose to help others. And this is part of the final lesson in this demonstration.

'Propriety said there would be no lies in the demonstration any longer, and it is true. As stated, there will be no official prize for any who helped another. However, the demonstration was also meant to help us weigh risk and reward. One of the potential rewards, in this case, is attracting the attention of people who appreciate whatever you might do. He will gift a few tokens of appreciation from his own pockets to those who helped others. Nothing as good as the official rewards, but enough to not be seen as an empty gesture.'

That was a bit underhanded, but Shen agreed that it wasn't a lie. Propriety was free to do anything with his own stuff, and that reminded everyone of another truth in the Alliance: the powerful did as they saw fit.

Even if the infinity-edgers ended up "fixing" the Alliance, it would only support that truth. Without enough strength, one couldn't even do good.

It also served as an incentive for other guardians to also reward any talent who had helped their charges. Propriety was leading by example. Some talents would soon be visited by the guardians of the ones they helped.

Shen hoped he would be one of them; an A-rank's gift shouldn't be too shabby. As a D-rank, any random C-rank trinket would leave him happy. The drow treated him well, but gaining things on his own merit was evidently much better.

'Lastly, Propriety says we'll have one month to rest or mingle with each other. Like previous Summits, this palace contains archways to many different places. That includes trials that might reward us and unfair situations that will see survival as its only reward. He believes choosing which one to visit—if any—will be especially meaningful after the last demonstration. Unlike previous Summits, every archway will contain information on the minimum strength one needs to survive inside for a few Standard minutes. Also unlike previous events, it'll be impossible for any guardian to go through any portal, no matter the reason.'

So, the resting period was actually a sub-demonstration. Not only for the talents who had to weigh gain and risk, either; for everyone. Propriety would be watching and assessing the guests' choices, from rewarding talents to making agreements to what they would tell their talents to do.

Shen liked the idea of trials. They might be helpful as training grounds after he completed his Qi Saturation. In fact, he might even spend some time analyzing the Eternal Empire's qi structures and pulling them into his Path, too, before heading into progressively more challenging portals. It was a great opportunity.

Of course, that meant giving up on networking, but Shen fully believed it was the right choice. Just like talent, connections were only so valuable if you didn't have enough personal strength.

For instance, the drow race might avenge him if he were killed, but he would rather both he and his attacker survive. Dying knowing his enemy would also meet their doom was only so comforting.

Propriety wasn't done.

'All rules against guest conflict remain in place. There are multiple empty quarters in the palace that we can occupy, and trespassing on an occupied room will be seen as an act of aggression. We're now free to do as we please. Propriety asks us to remain under the chairs' enchantments' influence while in the palace. Talents will automatically stop being influenced when we go through a portal archway.'

"Come," Liya commanded as she stood up.

Almost every other guardian did the same. Even the ones who planned to reward the talents that had helped would want to talk to their own talents alone first. That demonstration had certainly revealed many things, and the guardians themselves had had a while to do some politicking during the demonstration. The talents needed to be updated on what to do and expect.

Shen followed the drow through one of the eight doors surrounding the luxurious room. They walked through equally luxurious corridors with fancy tapestries, marble statues, and standing armor. Everything was B-tier or greater.

Liya led the cultivator through other big rooms, an inner garden, and multiple corridors until they reached golden wooden double doors almost twenty minutes later.

She opened the door without skipping a beat, revealing an expansive living room with four doors leading sideways. The wall opposite the entrance was made of glass, showing the planet's green ocean. The room had "fancy rustic" decorations, wood and fur, giving everything a cozy feeling.

Liya walked until she was close to the glass wall, looking outside. The door closed behind Shen after he entered. She said nothing until he stood in the middle of the room, which was surrounded by three sofas.

Then, he felt something around him and knew the system had been cut off. After reaching B-rank, she could do it with little need to justify herself. As long as no one died inside, no one would complain.

"Everyone knows about us," Liya said immediately after, turning to Shen with unwillingness written all over her face.

"What? How?"

"Your hand," she said with a sad smile. "It smells of me."

Shen was stunned. He knew he had to erase or manipulate his smell in combat. While in stealth, his smell might reveal his position, and even in a direct clash, smelling like fear might change things. However, he hadn't thought about doing that to hide their relationship.

"Who?" he demanded angrily.

His meaning was obvious: who had informed everyone? He doubted every guest could smell his hand at a distance—or would. Yet, she had said everyone knew.

"One of the almacores. Cashinvor. Almacores will randomly like or dislike anyone they meet, and I got unlucky."

"So he did it on purpose?"

Liya nodded. "Yes. There was no rule against it before she—not 'he'—did. I changed it afterward, but it was too little too late."

Shen sighed. He wanted to ask why she could change the rules, but now they had to focus on a different subject.

"What do you want to do about it?" he asked.

To his astonishment, Liya shook her head as she approached. "What are we going to do about it?"

Shen raised an eyebrow. "It's 'we' now?"

His voice wasn't angry, but he couldn't deny the bite of his words. He was simply being logical. He wasn't about to discuss anything related to emotions without first discussing what she had said to the System Administrator. It would be counterproductive, to say the least.

It was Liya's turn to raise an eyebrow at that. "That's rich. If you had to choose between me or your Path, would you choose me?"

That's... rich? She... She dared?!

Liya even sounded amused! As if they were talking about something funny! As if this was some kind of play!

Shen started slowly releasing his hold over his emotions. "I wouldn't kill you to advance my Path," he spat.

"Our Path is too soft for that," she replied while nodding, still amused, still approaching.

Shen found the "our" word instead of "your" out of place. However, he was quickly losing control. He had bottled too many things in too little space, and removing the lid was making everything explode.

"It's not about softness," he barked. "It's about not selfishly killing your potential romantic partner."

Liya chuckled. "Hypocritical, aren't we? We can't kill each other to further your Path because of our very Path. Yet, we feel so merciful and selfless. O, how magnanimous of us."

Now, Liya mocked him. She was also too close. Shen stepped back.

"Don't," he said, feeling disgusted.

Her smile died. Her eyes were filled with surprise and sadness. His action had hurt her.

Good. She deserved it. She had hurt him worse.

Liya stared him in the eyes for a few seconds, then said. "I should've guessed it. The System Administrator meddled with your perception of what she asked and maybe what I said."